March for Our Lives is a campaign run by survivors of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School’s shooting that happened on February 14. The shooting resulted in 17 fatalities. Students have taken the initiative to stand up and make their voices heard about the lack of safety for children in school.
They are protesting for stricter gun-control in the U.S. Several other mass shootings that have occurred recently had an AR-15 involved, such as the Sutherland Springs church shooting and the Las Vegas concert shooting. Protesters do not necessarily want all weapons banned, but just ones, like the Armalite Rifle, that were originally created solely for military purposes. Also, they want the legal age for purchasing a weapon to be older than 18.
Politicians have been saying that now is not the time to talk about gun-control, so the students have set a date for the discussion. On March 24 they will host a march in Washington D.C. Other schools around the nation have also started to set up their own marches in their area.
Emma González, David Hogg, and Jaclyn Corin, are some of the main student advocates for the event. They were invited to speak with President Trump inside the White House, as well as other survivors and grieving parents, sharing the horrors of being trapped in a wildfire zone while they were trying to go about a normal day of school. They argued that they don’t want thoughts and prayers, but rather action taken right now to assure that a horrific incident like this school shooting will never happen again.
The Parkland, Florida students have been extremely active on social media, raising awareness for their event. Some of them hold verified accounts and they have been interacting with other civil rights activists as well as celebrities online. The website for March For Our Lives has numerous articles about the event, a merchandise page and a donation button so that visitors can donate to the march’s funds, as well as relief to Stoneman Douglas survivors.
The students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School are in the process of making history. #NeverAgain #MarchForOurLives